South Residence 50th Birthday Celebration

AGENDA

7:00 pm

Gathering Time and Refreshments

7:30 pm 

Opening Remarks

Indigenous Ceremony

Historical Presentation

Alumni Welcome

Cutting the Cake (yes, there will be cake!)

PARKING

Parking lot adjacent to the Eccles Centre is located off South Ring Road (P13)

A Short History of South Residence

This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the opening of South Residence.  In March 1966, when the architectural design team led by world-reknowned Australian architect John Andrews began to form their design concept for a new student residence at the University of Guelph, they called the project “Complex B”.  The structure was divided into six halls that were named after counties in Ontario (which was the naming convention assigned to other residences):  Grey, Dufferin, Russell, Simcoe, Elgin and Carlton.  Later, this naming system was replaced with its current naming structure consisting of three halls (Mountain, Prairie and Maritime) with four wings per hall (ie. Seaway, Schooner, Harbour and Cove in Maritime Hall).

When it opened, South Residence was hailed as state-of-the-art accommodation with laundry facilities, three dining halls, recreation and music rooms, television lounges and kitchenettes.  Designed in the “Brutalist” architectural style, the philosopy behind its design was to offer small private areas of individual living space (over 2/3 single rooms) for academic focus, with inter-connected community space for student leisure.